Luke Shaw has become the second major signing of the summer for Manchester United after they agreed to bring in the young defender for £ 30 million from Southampton. Negotiations were going on between the two Premier league clubs for several weeks. At just 18 years old, Shaw is regarded as one of the finest talents in world football. His move is just the start of the rebuilding job that is expected to be carried at United this summer. After several years of dominance, United slipped out of the top four last season and finished in a lowly seventh place.

They have already signed Herrera from Athletic Bilbao for transfer fee of £ 28 million. It is thought that new manager Louis van Gaal is also targeting a couple of midfielders and defenders to strengthen the squad across the pitch. Future of strikers like Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez is also in doubt and they could move to pastures new in search of regular football. Shaw was involved at the World Cup 2014 with the England national team as he replaced Ashley Cole in the final 23 man squad.

He made his debut against Costa Rica and help the England team keep a clean sheet in their final group match. England manager Roy Hodgson says that Shaw could become the next Ashley Cole.

“I am thrilled and excited to be joining Manchester United. I have been at Southampton since I was eight years old and I would like to thank them and the fans for everything they have done for me. I want to continue to progress my career and joining United is the ideal place for me to do that. I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life and also looking forward to learning from the world-class players and management at the club,” said Shaw.

Manchester United are reportedly ready to make Southampton defender Luke Shaw as the best paid defender in the world. The 18-year-old has been currently locked in a transfer battle between Manchester United and Chelsea. Both clubs are interested in signing him. It is thought that the player prefers joining Chelsea because he supports them boyhood. However, United are ready to convince him that a move to Old Trafford is the best and they are prepared to pay huge amount of wages in order to show their commitment.

Shaw is seen as one of the finest left backs in the country and he is just 18 years old. Several clubs have been interested in securing him from Southampton. They are believed to be ready to accept an offer of around £ 27 million. However, Chelsea and United have been trying to lower this price. It is also thought that Chelsea dropped out of the running in order to cope with the FFP regulations. However, they recently came back into the picture to force United to up the ante and the Red Devils have responded by making an offer of £ 160,000 per week for the 18-year-old.

It is widely believed that Chelsea will not match this figure and will concede defeat in the race for the left back. After recently losing out Ashley Cole on a free transfer, the blues are keen on bringing him a new defender to play in the left-sided position. Jose Mourinho preferred using Cesar Azpilicueta in this position last season, but he is not expected to be there in the long-term. Shaw has been preferred with the national team ahead of Ashley Cole, which is seen as a major sign that he could be one for the future.

The 18-year-old came through the ranks at Southampton just as players like Theo Walcott.

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has claimed that the club needs to bring in Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos in order to kickstart a new era at the club. United have been heavily linked with the 24-year-old for the last few months. He was thought to be a major transfer target for David Moyes, who has left his position after 10 months in charge of the club. United announced that Dutch national team coach Louis van Gaal will be his replacement. This appointment has made it almost certain that United would go to great lengths in order to sign Kroos.

Kroos made his foray into the first-team during the regime of van Gaal. Scholes, who recently came on as an assistant for Ryan Giggs in the final four matches of the season, is widely expected to leave the club permanently after the announcement of the Dutchman becoming the next manager. Before leaving, the 39-year-old has stated that United should not only try to bring in a player like Kroos but also several other top players as well. He says that the club will be able to challenge for top honours once again only with the addition of six great players.

Scholes has also criticised Manchester United’s Chief executive Ed Woodward his failure to recruit transfer targets last summer.

“I’d bring in [Bayern Munich’s] Toni Kroos, but United need five or six to get near the top. Edward Woodward has an awful lot to prove this time that he’s good enough at his job. He has to bring the players in that the new manager wants. It’s obvious that last year he didn’t manage to do that. If he doesn’t, we are not going to get anywhere near the top,” said Scholes. The 39-year-old has also stated that Rooney may be past his best.